Valved nozzle for fire fighting spray guns



Oct. 31, 1950 R. G. PuLvER ETAL VALVED NOZZLE FOR FIRE FIGHTING SPRAY GUNS 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 =Filed Oct. 1, 1946 Oct. 3l, 1950 R. G. PULvl-:R ET An. 2,527,891

VALVED NOZZLE FOR FIRE FIGHTING SPRAY GUNS Filed Oct. lI 1946 42 Sheets- Sheet 2 IN V EN TORS.

Patented Oct. 3l, 195'() VALVED NOZZLE FOR FIRE FIGHTING SPRAY GUNS I Roy G. Pulver, Lansing, and' Clifford J. Grifiith, Y Dimondale, Mich., assignors, by mesne assignments, to Food Machinery and Chemical Corporation, San Jose, Calif., a corporation Delaware Application October 1, 1946, Serial No. 700,361

3 Claims.

This invention relates tospray guns operating under relatively high pressures, which are employed in lighting fires by what is known as the fog method. A spray gun found particularly useful for this purpose is disclosed in U. S. Letters Patent to H. C. Stockdale, Ser. No. 2,362,946 issued November 14, 1944.

The Stockdale gun handles water at pressures in excess of 600 pounds per square inch and is capable of projecting this Water from 60 to' 100 feet in the form of a line fog. This fog is very effective in blanketing and putting out lires.

In the low pressure fire-fighting system in general use before the advent'of the fog method for lighting fires, devices have been provided for diverting a, portion of the Water passing through the hose nozzle, which would produce a sheet of Water interposed between the fire and the reman handling the nozzle for protecting the fireman from the intense radiation of heat from the fire. rIhis sheet of Water also served, when a fireman Walked through a burning room, to aid in putting -r out the fire. A

Even though the supply of Water in low pressure systems is obtained from water mains or from a nearby river and is relatively unlimited, such nozzles did not come into general use because the large amount of water which was required for producing the protective sheet of water absorbed too much of the pump capacity.

The fog method is so eiiicient in extinguishing fires that it is Widely practiced with a light fire truck which carries a sufficient supply of Water to put out an average size fire by the fog method without reiilling its tanks. This permits a Vfire to be reached quickly by a fire-fighting crew and the fog method applied in putting out the fire, regardless of whether or not the fire is close to a supply of Water.

To prevent these light fire trucks from being loaded down too heavily with water, and to give them a. maximum effectiveness in fighting a re remote from a supply of water, it Would be Vout of the question to divert enough Water from the spray gun used in this methodto form a protective sheet as formerly proposed for the lowA pressure fire-fighting system.

It is an object of this invention to provide a re-ghting spray gun whichY is suitable for use in performing the fog re-fightingmethod, and which provides, by the use of a relatively insignificant amount of Water and pump` capacity a spray which adequately protects the face and shoulders of the fireman operating the gun.

lt-is another objectY of this invention to provide a high pressure sprinkler suitable'for use'on a spray gun of the Stockdale type and by which a relatively small amount of VWater maybe ldiverted from the/gun for the formation ofa protective cone of spray, and which may be quickly manipulatedto turn said sprinkler on or to shut it off.

It is still another object of the inventionto provide such a sprinkler Which is relatively-Simple in construction, made up of few parts, and which is readily adjustable to compensate for Wear.

The manner of accomplishing the foregoing objects, as Well as further objects'and advantages, will be made manifest in the followingl'description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings in which: Fig. 1 is a longitudinal ,sectional view of 'a preferred embodiment o f the lire-fighting spray gun of the invention.l j Fig. 2 is an enlarged plan View of the facerpro'- tecting sprinkler of the spray gun of the'invention. v

Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional Vview taken on the line 3 3 of Fig. 2 and ,illustratingy the sprinkler of the invention, as when open and 'operating't'o form a face protecting spray. v

Fig. 4 is a perspective View of the valve'tappet spray whirl member of the sprinkler of .the invention.

Fig. 5 is a side elevational View of a fireman operating the fire-fighting spray gun ofthe in vention to direct a stream of fog againstlthe fire and illustrating the face protecting sprinkler of the invention, producing a face protecting cone of spray. l l v Fig. 6 is a front View of a reman operating the re-ghting spray gun of the invention and illustrates how 'the face protecting cone of spray produced by the invention is positionedbet'ween the fire and the head and shoulders ofthek fireman manipulating the. gun;

Referring specically to the drawings, the invention'is there shown'aspreferably embodied in a'spray gun l0 which includes a butt member il having a pistolgrip l2 to assist in supportingl and controlling thegurn Formed; Iin thebutt member ll is a liquid-passage I3, there being a hose connection MillatY the cuterrendofthisfor connecting a hoseto the gun. Also provided'in the butt member l i tomcontrol thepas'sage 'I3 f a shut-'off valve l5 includ-ing a ball I6 whicljifis urged against a-seat l1 by a pressure 'spring i8, and is adapted to be lifted from-this seatby a valve stem I9 Which enters 'the ,passage vI 3 through a stuffing box4 20.`

The pistol grip I2 is hollow and has pins 25 and 26. Mounted pivotally on the pin 25 within the grip I2 is a trigger 30, from which a latch arm 3l extends upward. The trigger 30 also has an adjustable screw tappet 32 for contacting the valve stem I9.

Pivotally mounted on the pin 26 is a latch 34 having a hook 35 which is adapted to be manually hooked over the arm BI when the trigger 3D is compressed by the fingers of the hand holding the pistol grip I2, so as to hold the valve i5 open when the trigger is released.

The latch 34 is urged into-the position in which it is shown in full lines in Fig. 1 by a coil spring whereupon the spring 36 returns the latch 34 to -itsullwline position with respect to the trigger 30. When pressure of the fingers on the trigger `43l] hisrnow released, the spring I8 closes the valve `I5 -aridweturns the 4trigger 30 to its full line position.

The wspray gun #I also includes a primary v.barrelflll and a secondary barrel 4 I, adjacent ends of which are connected inoiset relation by an v adapter Vv42.

' The adapter 42 has .astung box 43 which is Y Iconcentric with the barrel 4I.

v vTheradapter v42 also comprises a base for a .ac'eprotecting.sprinkler 50 this being mounted `n a threaded bore I which is connected by a liquid supply-.hole'52 with the water passage 53 withinthefadapter 42, and through which water travels in passing from the barrel 4D to the barrel 4I. The hole 52 is smaller than the bore v5I to provideanfannular shoulder 54 which is extended .outwardly .by .cutting away the threads of the "bo`re"5`| at the bottom of the latter, so as to ,receive a soft rubber washer 55. The shoulder 54 limmediately adjacent the hole 52 also forms a valve seat '56. Pressed into a suitable hole provided .in the adapter 42 is a stop pin 51, this pref- "erably lbeing located directly forward of the '.bore`5I.

The'sprinkler 50 also includes a sprinkler head 60 "having a ilutedperiphery 6I for facilitating `manual rotation thereof, and a threaded sleeve 62 which is screwed into the bore 5i until its lower end engages and compresses the rubber rWasher l55. The head 60 has a spray forming 'recess'63 which is connected by a spray orice 64 "with a'cylindrical chamber 65 within the sleeve 62. `The head 60 is also provided with a series of threaded holes 66 in one of which a screw 61 is .screwed Vagainsta lock washer 68 so as to retain :this screw in place for a purpose which will be 'made clear hereinafter.

ing downwardly from the cup 12 is a ball contacting stem 11. The outside diameter of the cup 12 is such that this i-lts loosely in the chamber -65 with preferable clearance of approximately .025".

In assembling the sprinkler 5I), the head 60 is screwed in place as shown in Fig. 3 so as to trap the ball 10 and member 1I in the chamber 65 and bring the lower end of the sleeve 62 into pressural engagement with the washer 55.

Screw 61 is then placed in that one of the holes A66 which will allow such an anti-clockwise rotation ofthesprinklerhead 60, when this is opened fully, as will give a desired amountsof opening of the valve ball 10 to-admit water through the hole 52.

The parts=are -so proportioned that the washer is suinciently compressed by the sleeve 62, when the upper end of the chamber presses the member 1I against the ball 10 to hold the latter on its seat 56, that when the sprinkler 50 is'fully open, the washer 55 is still compressed enough to make a liquid tight seal between the sleeve 62 and the bore shoulder 54.

The sprinkler head 6D is thus seen to have `freedom of rotation, limited in a clockwise rotaitionby the seating of the ball 10 on the seat 66,

and in a counter-clockwise direction by contact with the screw 61 with the pin 51.

The primary barrel 4I] is screwed into the butt member II so as to communicate with the iluid passage I3. Provided on the barrel 46 is astop ring 84,'there being a threaded cam 85 and a knurled manual control sleeve 86 which are unitedtogether and are rotatably mounted on the `barrel 40 between the butt member II and the ring 84.

The secondary barrel 4I has a nozzlel screwed into its front end, a whirl chamber 88 vbeing -formed in this nozzle. A cap'89 screws onto this nozzle toconne a disc against the front end of the-nozzle, this disc having an orice SI through which liquid is discharged to'form a fog for use in rire fighting. Y

,Slideably mounted within the barrel 4I is a control` device 92, including a stream straightener spider 93, a ywhirl plunger 94, and a rod on .which the stream straightener and whirl plunger =aremounted- The whirl plunger 94 has a sleeve 96 which is tangentially slotted thereby admitting liquid tangentially into the chamber 88 when `thissleeve is partly withdrawn' therefrom.

The `whirlplunger 94 also is provided with holes `61 .which permit liquid to bypass the whirl'plunger-94-and entervthe chamber 8B when the whirl plungeris in plugging relation with said chamber, as shownfin Fig. 1. A detailed description of the whirl plunger 94 and the beneficial func- -`tions `of the holes 91, permitting the liquid to bypass in this manner, may be found inthe co- .pending applicationlof Roy G. Pulver, led Septemberi, 1946, Ser. No. 694.846, and now Patent The rod .95 extends rearwardly through the .stuiiing box -43 and has xed thereon by nuts 98 Operation y To .prepare thegun II] for operating the same, a hose leadingifrorn a high pressure liquid pump .is iirst attached `to the hose'connection I4. Sup

posing the operator is right-handed, he carries the gun in his two hands by holding the pistol grip I2 in his right hand and the manual control sleeve 86 in his left hand. For a left-handed operator the positions of the hands would just be reversed.

AWithout removing either of his hands from the gun, the right-handed operator is able to distance from the gun before it breaks up and scatters in the air. With the sleeve 96 extended partially into the whirl chamber 88, a much more diiused stream of fog particles is produced.

These various types of spray are useful in different circumstances in the use of the gun I0 in fighting res. For this gun to function properly the water spray thereto must be at a high pressure and this is customarily over 600 pounds to the square inch.

As above pointed out, the sprinkler 50, is provided to give protection to the rernan handling the gun l0 by interposing a conical spray of water between the face and shoulders of the reman and the nre he is fighting. Such a yspray Vmember and the wall of the chamber 65, entering the whirl chamber pocket 14 through the tangential slot 75, and passing upwardly through the orifice 64 to form a whirling hollow cone of spray S.

With the proper location of the screw 61 and :si

with the head 69 rotated to press this screw against the sto-p pin 51, the spray S rises about inches in height and is of just sufficient size to provide an adequate barrier between the face and shoulders of the reman and the fire being attacked. Being hollow, the cone of spray S gives the ireman a double wall of protection from the heat of the fire. It has been found that a high degree of protection of the remans face and shoulders irom burning is thusV aiorded by the diversion of a relatively small portion of the water used to operate the gun IIJ. This makes it practical to provide this protection for the reman using the spray gun lll when the latter is served by a fire truck depending entirely for the water used in ghting res, on water carried on the truck itself.

Whenever there is no necessity for the fireman to be protected from the heat of there by the spray S, the sprinkler 50 is kept shut oii', this being accomplished by rotating the sprinkler head S0 until the ball 10 is firmly seated on the seat 56.

With use, involving repeatedly opening and shutting the sprinkler 50, the seat 56 becomes worn so as to require an increased clockwise rotation of the sprinkler head 66 between its open position and its closed position in order to shut off the sprinkler. This means that when the sprinkler is open, more water than is desirable is diverted through the sprinkler in the formation of the spray S. The plurality of holes 66 provided in the sprinkler head 60 are for the purpose of permitting the screw 67 to be moved from one hole to the other when it becomes expedient to decrease the amount of counter-clockwise rotation of the sprinkler head 60 which takes place when this head is turned from fully closed to fully open position, as shown in Fig. 3.

The claims are:

l. A high pressure sprinkler comprising: a base having a threaded bore therein, and a liquid supply hole connecting axially with said bore, a valve seat being formed where said hole connects with said bore; a rubber washer in said bore surrounding said seat; a threaded sprinkler head screwed into said bore against said washer, there being a cylindrical chamber in said head and a spray orice openingfrom the upper end of said chamber; a valve ball in said bore and resting on said seat to form a valve; a member in said chamber for transmitting axial movement of said head to said ball to press the latter against said seat, said rubber washer having a resiliency causing it to maintain a seal between the bottom of said bore and said head at all operative positions oi said head; and means limiting the rotation of said head to the range between a closed position in which said ball is held against said seat and an open position in which said ball is free to leave said seat and in which said seal is still eiective.

2. A combination as in claim 1 in which said member is loosely received in said chamber between the upper end wall thereof and said ball and in which helical surfaces are formed in said member'to impart a swirling movement to liquid entering said chamber when saidball is removed from said seat.

3. A combination as in claim 2 in which said member has a cup with an annular wall formed in the upper portion thereof, said wall cooperating with the upper end of said chamber to form a swirl pocket, there being at least one helical slot in said wall for the admission of lid'uid from said chamber into said pocket, liquid thus entering said pocket being caused to swirl therein, said REFERENCES CITED The following references are of recordrin the le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,005,044 Koch Oct. 3, 1911 1,216,630 Tuthill Feb. 30, 1917 1,415,452 Kahler May 9, 1922 1,830,833 Green Nov. 10, 1931 1,837,339 Schlick Dec. 22, 1931 2,213,928 Gold et al Sept. 3, 1940 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 3,143 Great Britain Mar. 1, 1888 14,724 Great Britain July 11, 1908 27,324

Great Britain Nov. 27, 1912 

